Re: Maruti Dzire Tour is now the taxi king of Kolkata Quote:
Originally Posted by mi2n I would like to contradict with your findings partially, especially the part marked in bold, which from my personal experience I do not find to be true. Due to the thin A-Pillars, quarter glass, non-obstructive dashboard and low window sills, the Amby does provide a rather comprehensive view of the surroundings. Add to it the commanding seating position rivaled only by the Tata Sumo.
Rearward view too is much more practical than modern cars. |
My belief is that the ambassador was designed for an era where traffic was sparse, plenty of safe distance between vehicles maintained and low need for sudden braking / acceleration. I am sure these factors play a big role in design of the car and the ease of driving -- and have contributed to the evolution of modern car designs which are prepared for the kind of dense traffic we encounter. The high stance of the seat and car give a good view of the bonnet but I feel the visibility of the far edge is poor (left hand side fender) and the high fender can be counterproductive to awareness of low obstacles that come in the way -- in that respect it is a bit like driving a small bus (maybe that is why in the olden days taxis always had a 'helper' to help the driver navigate and judge distances. The windscreen of an ambassador also seems proportionally quite small for the volume of the car compared to 'modern' cars (including big and small SUVs). Ditto for the rear windscreen -- it is quite hard to gauge where the far rear tail ends. The front quarter glass at the A pillar feels inferior to the clean A pillars of modern cars (excluding a few specific models). All things considered, I think it takes a relatively higher high degree of skill and understanding to drive an Amby in congested roads of Indian cities compared to a Swift and that is perhaps one contributing factor to frequent dents and scrapes that Amby Taxis get involved in.
Having said that my experience driving an ambassador was restricted to parking and de-parking my deceased grandfather's Mk4 (now sold) and using it for neighbourhood runs only. Quote:
Originally Posted by subratasenn However, there is one big plus with Maruti Dzire. The spare parts (OEM and non-OEM) are available all over the town. So, a jugaad kind of maintenance is easier for a Maruti vehicle. The taxi owners love this. It's difficult to have that with a Etios. |
This is a big factor.
Another point of distinction between Logan / Etios in Bangalore and Ambassador / Swift in Kolkata -- is that Bangalore taxis are without exception "gentleman" taxis for radio / uber / ola / negotiated transport. In a sense they are assured of a certain type of clientele and usage. Nobody will hail a Bangalore Etios ola cab for lugging around trunks or jute bags of goods and wear and tear is expected to be less. Using an Etios for a Kolkata taxi type of operation (as AJ has described, a very common occurrence in Kolkata) would make maintenance costs high unless the car was of a type that lent itself to jugaad solutions (like Maruti variants). This is a reason why 'new' metered taxis in Kolkata do not remain in new condition for very long.
Last edited by Kumar R : 22nd July 2015 at 22:50.
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